Introduction
Nicholas Patterson from Opelika, Alabama, completed his OneUp Trader evaluation in just 15 days and has been steadily improving ever since. At 33, he works as a freelancer in film and music production while still developing his bond trading strategy.
“I enjoy the flexibility that comes with making a profit from the markets,” Nicholas explains about adding trading to his income streams.
What makes Nicholas’s approach interesting is his focus on bond futures, possibly the first funded article we have written on a trader who trades bond futures. Let’s take a closer look at his strategy and how he did it.
Strategy
As we said, Nicholas trades exclusively in bond futures, focusing on the 10-Year Note (ZN) and 30-Year Bond (ZB). While most funded traders gravitate toward other popular markets like ES, NQ, or CL, Nicholas found his niche in these less crowded markets.
“I am a scalper,” he states, describing his high-probability approach.
His strategy development took patience. Rather than jumping between different approaches, Nicholas committed to understanding one market thoroughly:
“I kind of figured out a way to judge where things were going based on watching the market at various times. It took about a year to actually develop that skill.”
Like anything in life, trading takes time to get good at. Trading is no different, and Nicholas shows just another example of this. Also, bond markets move differently from equity indices and require entirely different approaches. Nicholas acknowledges that switching to something like ES or NQ would require a completely different learning curve—a key insight for traders who believe they can master every market the same way.
A lot of the time, it’s best for traders to stick to one or two markets because they all move very differently. Even ES and NQ move differently. Just because we know how to place a trade on a trading platform doesn’t mean we can trade all instruments profitably.
Daily Process and Market Analysis
Like all professional traders, Nicholas starts each trading day with preparation and a solid routine.
“I wake up to a workout, then I enjoy my protein shake while I trade.”
His pre-market routine focuses on data analysis rather than gut feelings:
“I wake up, grab a cup of coffee—or tea, it’s more like tea now—and analyze the market before it opens. I try to get a feel for where things are headed based on the numbers that I see.”
He explains his process: “It’s less of a feeling and more of seeing certain numbers in a day and how many times I see these numbers. If those numbers continue to correlate, then I will continue to either trade those numbers or study those numbers.”
His method may sound abstract to outsiders, but for Nicholas, it’s a refined approach rooted in repetition and statistical observation. This commitment to consistency helps him avoid overtrading and stick to what works.
Learning Curve and Self-Assessment
Nicholas is refreshingly honest about his trading development:
“I didn’t know how to really trade before I started with OneUp Trader. OneUp has increased my trading abilities tenfold, 100-fold even.”
This is something we love to hear from our traders. The OneUp Trader funded trader program gives traders the chance to really test their skills in an environment that is as close to the real thing as possible, ie, the Evaluation. Trading on a demo just doesn’t give the same experience, then of course, once funded, traders can withdraw any amount 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Nicholas also acknowledged specific weaknesses: “My weaknesses are not sticking to my plan and trading with emotion.”
However, he’s developed practical solutions for these challenges. His exit strategy shows disciplined thinking:
“If I see something has changed in the market, I don’t fight it. I just let it go. I trade with the tide because the market seems to ebb and flow.”
OneUp Trader Experience
Nicholas discovered OneUp Trader through a podcast on YouTube and chose the platform for specific reasons:
“The scalability and the 90% split offer are two reasons I chose OneUp.”
He started with the $25K account: “I did the 25K account because it was the lowest barrier of entry.”
His experience with customer support has been consistently positive: “They’ve taken me to the mountain and back. I’ve had issues and gotten responses quickly—that’s the main thing for me.”
The funding process was smooth: “I received funding about 3 or 4 days after I completed the evaluation. The transition was pretty seamless. There were no hidden fees, and I never paid anything extra.”
Nicholas has received warnings in the past on his funded trading account, one time about trading through a restricted news event. Thanks to the flexible rules offered by the OneUp Trader-funded trader program and funding partners, he was given another chance to continue, and his account was not terminated. This is something unheard of in the industry today because if a rule is broken at any other prop firm, the account is immediately terminated.
Advice To Traders
Nicholas offers practical advice to other traders: “Pick a target and stick to your guns. As soon as you start doubting yourself, you start making mistakes. When you start making mistakes, you start doubting yourself even more.”
Building Sustainable Skills
What stands out about Nicholas’s approach is his commitment to genuine skill development. He spent a full year developing his pattern recognition abilities and continues to refine this more and more.
His description of OneUp Trader reflects his overall philosophy: “OneUp is a fun way to learn how to discipline yourself and refine strategies.”
